Guest Director Mark Rucker says, “I'm thrilled to be working on this new adaptation of Pride and Prejudice with Asolo Rep. While the production is definitely set in Jane Austin's delicious early 18th Century world, the approach of the production will be very modern indeed. We use creative theatrical techniques to move swiftly though the play, and want to capture the youthful energy of the novel along with plenty of humor. The romantic energy is full of movement, the world is constantly moving; there will be several dances.

Pride and Prejudice is running in conjunction with the community wide literary project Beyond the Book, which asks “What would happen if everyone in the community read the same book?”In October of 2006 Asolo Rep, in cooperation with several local organizations, agencies, libraries, and bookstores, launched this unique project that inspires reading, literacy, and community connection on Florida's GulfCoast. The 2007 selection is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. After reading the book, the community is invited to delve further into its stimulating ideas and themes by participating in events happening all across our counties. Events include seeing the stage production, joining a book discussion group, viewing various film adaptations, and many others. Please visit Beyond the Book’s website at www.beyondthebookfl.orgto learn more about the many community events scheduled.

ABOUT THE PLAY: This new adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel follows the five Bennet sisters as they navigate the sometimes delightful and sometimes turbulent waters of courtship in English society during the early part of the 19^th century. Strong-willed Elizabeth Bennet meets the prideful Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and the pair takes an instant dislike to each other. However, over the following months Elizabeth’s older sister Jane begins a courtship with Darcy’s friend Mr. Bingley, and her younger sister Lydia makes a foolish alliance with the dashing yet dangerous Mr. Wickham, who has a link to Darcy’s past. Elizabeth also fends off an unwanted proposal from her cousin, Mr. Collins, and both she and Darcy have to deal with the meddling of Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. As these events bring them together over and over again, his pride and her prejudices are overcome, leading eventually to a marriage of true minds.

Says playwright Catherine Sheehy about her adaptation, “The greatest challenge in adapting Pride and Prejudice for the stage is doing justice to its many excellencies. This is arguably the best loved novel in all the English language; its readers fall head over heart for Austen's beautiful plotting and smart, charming characters. What I've tried to do in my work is create a truly theatrical event--a fluid, funny, and moving piece that will reward fans of the book as well as newcomers to the dance.”

Biographies:

Kate Hampton (Elizabeth Bennet) made her Asolo Rep debut earlier with season as Miranda in Expecting Isabel. Her Broadway credits include Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, and The DeepBlueSea. Off-Broadway credits include Over the River and Through the Woods, and All My Sons. Other New York credits include The Flight of Icarus at Ice Factory Festival; I, Claudius at Theatre Askew;100 Aspects of the Moon and The Typographer’s Dream, both atClubbed Thumb; Ghosts; The Cherry Orchard; and Museum at Keen Co. Regional theatre credits include Loot at The Arden; Vanya/Vermont at Vermont Stage; The Real Thing at Olney; All My Sons at Williamstown; and Artists and Admirers and Love’s Labour’s Lost at Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Television credits include Law & Order; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; Law & Order: Criminal Intent; The Education of Max Bickford; and Sex and the City. Kate received training from Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London and BrownUniversity.

John Pasha (Darcy) guest starred along with Kate Hampton earlier this season as Nick in Expecting Isabel. He is happy to be returning to Asolo Rep where he was last seen in The Philadelphia Story. Most recently, John played the title role in Dracula: Lord of the Undead at The Fulton Opera House. Other regional theater credits include Hamlet with the Taiwan national tour at the American Shakespeare Theater; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival; Bloodline: the Children of Argos at The Hangar Theater; The Mousetrap at The Pioneer Theater Company; Private Lives at The Repertory Theater of St. Louis; The Illusion at The Clarence Brown Theatre Company; Arms and the Man at The Sacramento Theater Company; The Sins of Sor Juana with Southwest Repertory; and seasons at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, New Mexico Shakespeare Festival, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespearean Festival, and TheShakespeare Theatre in Washington D.C. Television and Film credits include One Life to Live; All My Children; Guiding Light; As the World Turns; and John can be seen in the documentary Within a Play on the Sundance Channel. John’s received his M.F.A. at The University of Delaware PTTP; his B.F.A. at BostonUniversity; and trained at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Bryant Richards (Mr. Wickham) can also be seen this season in his Asolo Rep debut as Lt. Kaffee in A Few Good Men. His New York theatre credits include Troilus and Cressida at the Ohio Theatre, The Winter’s Tale at Third Eye Rep, Bliss at Primary Stages, Parts Unknown at Chashama, The Hot Month and A Day’s Work at Ensemble Studio Theatre, Slow Fast Walking on the Red Eye at New Dramatists, After the Fall at the West End, and The Triple Happiness at New York Theatre Workshop. His regional theatre credits include Arcadia and Rough Crossing at Portland Stage, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound at the Geva Theatre Center, As You Like It at B.K.I.S Theatre Company, 1933 at Denver Center Theatre, Birdy at the Reynolds, and Picasso at the Lapin Agile  and Hamlet at Actor’s Theatre of Louisville. His television and film credits include Law and Order; Law and Order: Criminal Intent; The Guiding Light; A Matter of Choice; The Job; Soapfan; Let it Ride; and I Want to Bleed.

Olivia D’Ambrosio (Kitty Bennet) This show marks Olivia’s debut with Asolo Rep. Her other credits include Summer & Smoke at Paper Mill Playhouse, and Brand:NEW and Summer & Smoke, bothat Hartford Stage. Olivia graduated Summa cum Laude from AmherstCollege, receiving her bachelor of arts in Theatre and Dance after performing the role of Li’l Bit in Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive for her undergraduate thesis.

Mark Rucker (director) has directed at many regional theaters across the country, including: Arena Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, American Conservatory Theater, Syracuse Stage, The Intiman Theatre, Ford's Theatre, Berkeley Rep, and The Old Globe in San Diego. At Yale Repertory Theater he has staged Twelfth Night, Landscape of the Body, The Cryptogram, Measure for Measure, The Imaginary Invalid, All's Well That Ends Well, and The Mistakes Madeline Made. Mark is an Associate Artist at South Coast Repertory Theater, where he has directed over 20 productions including world premieres of plays by Richard Greenberg, Christopher Shinn, Annie Weisman, John Glore, and Culture Clash. His feature film, Die Mommie Die!, won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Mark is a graduate of UCLA and the Yale School of Drama.

Catherine Sheehy (adaptor/playwright) has been collaborating with Mark Rucker since 1989, most recently on an adaptation of Everyman. She is Resident Dramaturg for the Yale Repertory Theatre and the chair of Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism at Yale School of Drama. She has also worked at the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, in New York and Ireland with the late Joseph Chaikin, at Baltimore’s Center Stage with Irene Lewis, and for four seasons as Festival Dramaturg at Shakespeare Santa Cruz in California. She is a former associate editor of American Theatre and a former managing editor of Theater magazine. She received her doctorate from Yale in 1999 for her dissertation: If You Care to Blast for It: Excavating the Lost Comic Masterpieces of the American Canon.

Several events are planned to enhance the production of Pride and Prejudice.During the run of the show, Asolo Rep is offering free discussions with both actors and creative team members so audiences can learn just how much work is done behind-the-scenes.

PLAYTALKS will be held on Sunday, March 25 after the 2 PM matinee performance, at approximately 4 PM and on Thursday, April 5 after the 8 PM evening performance, at approximately 10 PMin the Mertz Theatre. This is a free opportunity for the community to meet the actors of each play and participate in an animated and honest discussion about the production process. Tickets to show prior to the discussion are $18-$51.

INSIGHTS A FREE hour-long discussion held on Saturday, April 14 at 11 AM in the Mertz Theatre that provides a unique opportunity to look at the work done by members of the design team in order for the show to open. The discussion is FREE; you may purchase tickets to the 2:00 PM performance following the discussion for $18-$49; however, attendance of the show is not required.

ACT ONE! DISCUSSION held on Wednesday, March 21, 6:00 PM allows the audience to converse with expert panelists about the thought-provoking and sometimes controversial themes and topics surrounding selected plays from our season. Adapting Austen or How do you Cram a Classic Novel into the Theatre? will highlight our production of Pride and Prejudice, featuring playwright Catherine Sheehy and director Mark RuckerThe discussion will be held in the lobby mezzanine. Call the Box Office at 351-8000 or 800-361-8388. Tickets cost $10.

Pride and Prejudice will run in rotating repertory from March 23, 2007 through May 6, 2007 on Asolo Rep’s mainstage - The Mertz Theatre, located across from the Ringling Museum at 5555 N. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, Florida. Ticket prices vary from $18 to $53 depending on day, time and seat location. Group rates and special discounts are available; single tickets, money saving subscriptions, the $25 student pass and the $99 play pass are now on sale. Special event pricing varies. Purchase tickets in person at the Asolo Rep Box Office or by calling 941-351-8000, toll-free 800-361-8388, or online at www.asolo.org.